Over the past few months I’ve been traveling around talking about my new book, How to Wash a Chicken – Mastering the Business Presentation. I’ve hit quite a few cities along the way: Los Angeles, Houston, Boston, Toronto, Chicago and others. This week I’ll be in Atlanta and New York. The events have been great […]

It is time for resolutions; the start of a new year is a natural time to think about new goals and priorities. Even people who “don’t do resolutions” often become reflective as this time of year rolls around. The most common resolutions won’t come as a surprise. Number 1 on the list is apparently getting […]

My tennis game has not gotten better over the years. Indeed, anyone watching me play would probably conclude quite the opposite; I am getting worse as time goes by. The good news is that I’ve figured out the problem: my racquet. It is aging, so the flawed racquet is missing all the shots. It is […]

There is a pretty simple way to put an audience to sleep: Just present a collection of random facts and charts. You might start with a page showing sales over the past several years, then move on to margin trends, then a look at sales by region and product line. People might be engaged for […]

Last year Kellogg opened up its new Global Hub, a massive and fabulous building that is now perhaps the top business school facility in the world. The building is full of light and incredible vistas of Lake Michigan, with a mix of meeting spaces and areas for quiet work and reflection. The classrooms are modern and spacious. […]

There is a simple way to dramatically increase the odds that your next presentation will go well: pre-sell it. Before you actually get to the presentation, you should meet with all the key people who will be there. If you do this, you will walk into the room with confidence and the meeting will probably be a success. […]

All too many presentations lack punch. The document becomes a dense collection of facts with a plodding tone and structure. This does not make the recommendation interesting or compelling. It simply doesn’t work well. There are many steps to creating a powerful presentation: be clear on the recommendation, include an executive summary, find the story, […]

My new book on creating and delivering powerful business presentations is now available! It has been a long journey; I’m not entirely sure when I started working on this project, but it was at least four years ago. Why I Wrote It Someone asked me this week why I wrote the book. It is a fair […]

There is a simple way to improve your business presentations: Always have a headline that states the main point at the top of every page. Three Benefits A good headline does three important things. First, it helps your audience figure out the point of the page. There is nothing worse than coming across a page […]

Creating a tight, logical presentation is a serious challenge. There is often an enormous amount of data to analyze and interpret, and crafting the story can be hard. Even gifted presenters find this a demanding task. The basics, however, are not that complicated. Doing even a few easy things can improve your presentations dramatically. Here is some simple […]

Over the next several months, I’ll be releasing weekly tips about business presentations. The recommendations will vary; one might be about finding the story, the next about setting up the room. They will all be practical and easy to apply. If you follow the advice and put it into practice, I’m confident you’ll become a more […]

My new book on creating and delivering powerful business presentations comes out on September 25. I’ve heard from quite a few people, and they all seem to be excited about its release. You can pre-order a copy here. One of the questions that I’ve been getting quite frequently is this: What is with the title? This is […]

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Welcome to StrongBrands

The website of Tim Calkins - helping people use marketing strategy and branding to build strong and profitable businesses.

Tim is a clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management where he teaches marketing strategy, biomedical marketing and strategic marketing decisions in the full-time, part-time and executive MBA programs. He is co-academic director of Kellogg's branding program.